Chapter 46 Visitors

Chapter 46 Visitors

Chapter 46 Visitors
As the day dawned, the first pot of dry food Li Wuxiang prepared for Xue Baoping was almost ready. First, boil beans, soybeans, black beans, millet and other grains until they were cooked, then grind them into crumbs, then add oil to the pot, add a clove of star anise, a handful of fine salt, and a little white sugar, and then slowly stir-fry them over low heat until they are dry. This way, they can be stored for four or five days without going bad, and it is also convenient to eat in the mountains.

While cooking, Li Wuxiang reviewed the action plan he had thought of at night.

First of all, Chen Xin said all those excuses to Xue Baoping, just to let her leave as soon as possible without any restriction on her own hands and feet.

Chen Xin was a shrewd and smart man. When chatting with him before, he also revealed his fear of Zhao Qi. If he told him the truth, he would believe him. The problem was that he was the local overlord and his temperament was not as weak as he seemed. He must have strong ideas of his own.

When he was doing things, he was most averse to such a partner, especially one with a family. According to his experience, sometimes two plus one would be less than three or even equal to zero, so Chen Xin should not be used unless it was a critical moment.

It was a pity to miss the chance last night. Li Wuxiang was now certain that he was most likely the key link in Zhao Qi's sacrificial ceremony, which could explain why he was in a hurry to accept a disciple and why he was in a hurry to feed him medicine.

But when I went to see him last night, he treated me very well and even took me to catch ghosts. This means that he might really want to take me as his disciple, which gave me the opportunity to see the talisman and get a glimpse of part of the truth. If I had been more kind at that time, Chen Sanyao might still be killed, but it would be Zhao Qi who did it himself. And now, perhaps as his true successor, I already know what he wants to do.

If only he could have another half month, he would have several ways to make Zhao Qi believe that he was not the kind of person who would betray his teacher and ancestors.

Now, he felt that he could only use the most unskilled method - to subdue Zhao Qi and force him to tell him what he wanted. This was quite risky. From a professional perspective, Zhao Qi was equivalent to his former self, and his current self was equivalent to a strong man. The strong man might have a slight advantage in physical fitness, but his former self had too many skills and tools to defeat him.

There should only be one chance, and it should be a surprise, without giving him the chance to use any invisible or intangible magical skills.

But Zhao Qi's fighting skills should be very advanced, and he cannot be killed unless it is absolutely necessary.

First, this would not satisfy the needs of the external evil. That thing had not yet fully revealed its hideous face to him, but since it was called "external evil", there must be a reason. On this point, he had no doubt about the experience and lessons passed down from generation to generation by the practitioners in this world.

Secondly, when he was trapped in the stove, it seemed that it was Zhao Xi's ghost who helped him at the critical moment. This means that death is not the end in this world, and it is even more difficult to say for a cultivator like Zhao Qi.

He thought about it carefully and repeatedly considered every step, and felt as if he had returned to the time when he was working on the project in his previous life.

When the sun rose in the sky, he felt that he had almost prepared everything. At this time, he heard a knock on the door.

Li Wuxiang was slightly stunned, holding his breath, walked to the door and looked out through the crack. He saw a strong man in a white short coat, carrying a knife and a bag. The edges of his clothes were worn and dirty, almost turning yellow. His feet were covered with mud, his lips were chapped, and his skin was rough. He looked like a dusty traveler.

The sturdy man knocked on the door again: "Is anyone there? Give me a bowl of water!"

Li Wuxiang had wanted Xue Baoping to reopen Xue's shop before, so that he would have a place to live after leaving him. But now was the flood season, so there were even fewer people passing by. This person was the first stranger he had met in these days, so he should have seen the sign of "Xue's shop".

He had no mood for business today, but when he saw the man's attire, he changed his mind.

This man looks like a well-traveled man. It would be a good opportunity to ask Xue Baoping something else while he is catching up on his sleep.

He responded with a "come", removed a door panel, and after a pause, he smiled: "It's rare, I haven't seen outsiders for a long time."

The strong man also smiled and clasped his fists: "Are you asking for a bowl of water? This is a food store, right?"

Li Wuxiang put the door panel aside, stepped aside, and pointed to the bench in the room: "Yes, but there are not many people now. If you bring your own food, we can also make you some hot soup and hot water. Come in and sit down."

The sturdy man glanced inside the room and saw two stoves, one large and one small, blackened walls, piles of washed dishes, a few benches, and a few wooden supports. He knew that it must have been a food store in the past. He walked in and sat on the bench, letting out a sigh of relief. He then untied the bag from his back and put it on the ground, took out four dry biscuits and handed them to Li Wuxiang: "Make some soup biscuits, something hot to eat."

He took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and asked, "How much does this cost?"

Li Wuxiang took the cake but didn't take the money: "It's just something that comes naturally. I don't have anything delicious here."

The sturdy man nodded and took the money, then took the water handed to him by Li Wuxiang, drank it all, wiped his beard, and held the bowl to watch him prepare the food.

——First, soak the four dry biscuits in water to moisten the surface, and then cut them into strips one finger wide. The strong man saw that he was quite skilled in using the knife, and thought to himself that since he was a young master from a neighboring town, this skill was not learned as a cook, but he must have practiced knife and sword skills.

——He added more firewood to the stove and blew it vigorously with the blowpipe. The remaining fat in the pot began to smoke slightly. He then put the cut biscuits in, and with a hissing sound, smoke rose up. He quickly sprinkled in a pinch of fine salt and started to stir-fry with a spatula.

After frying for a dozen times, he added a little water along the edge of the pot, and scooped some remaining oil residue from the porcelain bowl beside it. The aroma immediately filled his nose, and the previously soaked cake strips were fried until the surface was slightly crispy and yellow, and they made a crackling sound as the spatula turned. At this time, the strong man did not care to observe this "Li Jiye", but stared at the pot, thinking that this kid actually knows how to cook! Did he learn it from the little girl in this family? With such comprehension, it is a pity that he has to learn to be a cook. No wonder Zhao Qi chose him as his disciple.

But looking at his white hair and his current attitude towards people, I'm afraid his personality has changed drastically after his family died. If he loses his spirit, then even if his skills are more refined, it will be difficult for him to achieve anything in the future.

After the pancakes were heated through, Li Wuxiang put them on the stove, added a ladle of water to the pot and waited for it to boil, then started chatting: "What's your name, big brother?"

"My last name is Zeng, Zeng Jianqiu. Your cooking skills are really good."

Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "You changed your career halfway. Where are you going, Brother Zeng?"

"Ah, I go out in the wind and rain to make a living." Zeng Jianqiu patted the knife at his waist, "Don't think too much, I'm not a robber, I'm just a security guard, I just can't find a good customer - is there a place in your town where I can work?"

Li Wuxiang's heart rang. The people who needed people to guard the house in the town were naturally the wealthy families and the town owner's family. Was this person just a coincidence, or...

His expression darkened: "Ah, I'm not sure about this either." After a while, he added: "But it should be not. The town lord here has soldiers to guard his house. Brother Zeng, go to Qingjiang City to have a look. There are more wealthy families there."

Zeng Jianqiu nodded: "Okay, thank you for your advice."

When the water boiled, Li Wuxiang scooped some of the food he had cooked for Xue Baoping and placed it at the bottom of another bowl. He then poured hot water over it and it immediately became a bowl of fragrant porridge. He took out a pair of chopsticks and placed the two bowls of food on the ground in front of Zeng Jianqiu: "Brother Zeng, just make do with what you have."

Zeng Jianqiu was really hungry, so he took a bite of the fried pancakes from the large bowl. Some of the pancake strips were closer to the middle of the pancake, slightly thinner, and extremely crispy, as if fried, with a dry, burnt aroma. Some were closer to the sides, soaked in water, and the inner layer was stir-fried to be soft and moist, but the outer layer was also crispy, and tasted a little chewy.

The combination of these two flavors, along with the fine oil residue on the cake, made his cheeks sour after just a few bites, and his saliva oozed out, filling his mouth with fragrance. He took two big bites and swallowed them, then took two sips of the porridge, and immediately a thin layer of sweat appeared on his body, and all his pores felt refreshed.

When he stopped to take a breath, he saw "Li Jiye" looking at him with a slightly sad smile, and Zeng Jianqiu knew what kind of person he was.

This young man probably had never seen any dangers in the martial arts world when he was at home, so when he opened the door and saw me with a sword, he didn't show any sign of vigilance. He should have a good heart. When I asked where I could find work, his face darkened, probably because he was thinking of his home. But then he forced himself to go to Qingjiang City. This kind of mentality is really rare.

As for other things... the guy I met in the evening said that the girl from the Xue family is extremely beautiful, and the two of them must be getting along very well these days... that's going to be easy.

He knew what was going on, so he enjoyed the food. After he had finished the two large bowls, he burped and wiped his beard: "Young man, your cooking skills are really good. But I heard that you also took a practitioner in the town as your master. Do you want to open a shop or learn magic?"

He saw Li Wuxiang was slightly stunned, and then sighed: "I want them all."

Zeng Jianqiu laughed: "It would be great to have the best of both worlds. But, little brother, do you know? Your master is a demon."

Li Wuxiang was stunned for a moment, then frowned: "Zeng...you, I got you food and drinks, why are you talking like that?"

Zeng Jianqiu's face turned grim, and he let out a long breath: "Don't be angry, listen to me and tell you slowly. Your master is called Zhao Qi, a long-faced man with thin eyebrows and eyes, right?"

"Did he also claim to be a descendant of the Ranshan sect? Well, it seems I was right. Then listen carefully, your master had passed through several villages and towns before coming to Jinshui. Every time he arrived at a place, he cast spells and killed people. I have been tracking him for several months. The reason I came here is because I met the man whose life you spared last night, and then I knew that he was in Jinshui."

What a coincidence! Li Wuxiang stared at him again and frowned slightly.

Is it really such a coincidence? Is it Zhao Qi's enemy who has come? Or is Zhao Qi trying again... No, if Zhao Qi knew that Chen Sanyao was still alive, why would he try again!

This person said that Zhao Qi had killed someone before... It was not surprising that he did these things, but it was a pity that I was still thinking last night that Zhao Qi might not be a bad person. However, the enemy of a bad guy may not be a good guy, and even if he is, I don’t know if he is a good helper or useless...

Li Wuxiang said in a deep voice: "I don't know whether what you said is true or false."

Zeng Jianqiu chuckled and stared at him with a sharp gaze: "Young man, it's easier to learn bad things than to learn good things. Your master asked you to kill someone last night. Would a good person ask others to take someone's life lightly? I heard that you showed mercy, so I came to see you today because I was afraid of killing the wrong person! Now I think you have been deceived for a while. Think about it carefully. Do you want to follow your master to kill people and harm the world just to learn magic?"

Seeing that Li Wuxiang was still frowning and silent, Zeng Jianqiu felt around in his arms and threw a stack of papers on the stove: "If you still don't believe it, take a look for yourself."

Li Wuxiang picked up the stack of papers, unfolded them, and found that they were all contract documents. Some of the papers were new, some were old, and were wrinkled, with mud and water stains, and traces of being soaked by sweat. All of them were written about a certain town entrusting Qi Jianqiu to take Zhao Qi's life and how much the reward was. They were all stamped with seals of different shapes, and some of them had bloody handprints on them, some of which were adults', and some were small, mutilated handprints.

Li Wuxiang exhaled slowly: "What did he... do?"

Zeng Jianqiu smiled coldly: "This demon is looking for his master. He couldn't find anyone to tell him about his master, and thought his master might be passing by, so he set up a spirit formation to ask. Do you know how to summon spirits?"

"I... don't quite know. If he wants to descend to the heavens, why would he want to harm people?"

"It's not enough to just offer sacrifices to a deity, he also needs incense and longevity from the human world! Wherever this evil spirit has passed, how many people have had their lives shortened and their youth lost, and how many have been sent to their deaths by him!"

Li Wuxiang thought about it again and again, and then hesitantly said: "Then, you come to me, what do you want to do?"

Zeng Jianqiu clapped his hands suddenly: "Great! It shows that you have a sense of right and wrong! Young man, listen to me——"

"Zhao Qi is a demon Taoist priest. His swordsmanship is so-so and his light body skills are also mediocre. But the talisman skills of their Ranshan School are amazing. If we really start fighting, I'm afraid he will run away. Once he runs away and harms the people in the next village, it will be your and my fault. The reason why he accepted you as his disciple is because he needs someone to help him summon the gods, so he wants to find someone who is clever and skillful. Look, let's do this-"

Zeng Jianqiu paused for a moment, a smile on his face: "Oh, by the way, do you know the Five Mountains True Form Emperor?"

Li Wuxiang thought for a moment and said, "I knew this was a great god."

"So Zhao Qi accepted you as his disciple and didn't tell you anything else?"

"He just accepted me yesterday."

"Oh, okay, okay. Then listen to me, this is a great god. Look, let's do this - to deal with a monster like Zhao Qi who is good at escaping, we must act quickly and never delay. So take a look at this treasure." Zeng Jianqiu reached into his arms again and took out a small oil-paper bag and handed it to Li Wuxiang.

　Two chapters merged into one.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)